Fr John Colgan was born in Carrickmore, Co Tyrone on 13 September 1936. He was educated in St Colmcille’s NS Carrickmore and CBS Omagh. He came to Dalgan in September 1954, and was sent as an exchange student to the Columban Seminary in Milton, MA, USA from 1957 to 1960. On his return to Dalgan as a deacon, he was ordained priest on 21 December 1960 by Bishop Thomas Stewart.
In 1961 John was assigned to Chile. After language studies in Santiago he was assigned to San Andres Parish, and later to Santa Catalina, both in the Archdiocese of Santiago. After his first home vacation in 1969 he was appointed to promotion work in the United States and covered a lot of terrain over the following three years. In 1973 he returned to Santiago, Chile, and to the Parish of Sta Catalina, and later to the Parish of San Marcos. He became Pastor of the Parish of San Gabriel in 1984.
In February 1987 he was appointed Editor of the Australian Far East. He spent the following sixteen years in this position and during this time the magazine won several awards for its presentation and its contents. In 2006 he retired to Brisbane, but after two years there he was asked to teach English to seminarians and priests in Myanmar for a year. After that it was back to literary work as he spent the next ten years, 2009-2019 as editor of Columban Intercom, based in Dalgan.
John’s health began to deteriorate from 2020 onwards and he entered the Columban Nursing Home in December 2021. He was a gifted photographer and artist. He was perhaps the only Columban who had his own studio where, during his years in Chile, he loved to experiment in oils and water colours. He also created colourful posters to illustrate his catechetical talks. John knew how to celebrate both at the Eucharistic table and the kitchen table and it was there that he brought community, friends and family together.
A quiet and very private person, a man of peace, he was a missionary with many talents. He won the respect of both parishioners and work colleagues as a man of great integrity and pastoral commitment. He will be missed as an inspiration to his extended family, a dedicated Columban, and a sincere friend. John died peacefully in St Columban’s Nursing Home on 22nd November 2025.
May he rest in Peace.
